How did technology improve in the 1960s?

Answer 1

living in a high-tech age, it's easy to forget that "technology" didn't always mean iPods, DVD and the Internet. For thousands of years, it was the means by which people secured food and shelter, established social order and shaped and sustained their cultures.

W. Bernard Carlson, professor of science, technology and society at the University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science, believes that students don't learn enough about the vital interaction of technology, culture and history. So, he decided to do something about it. The result is the seven-volume "Technology in World History," just published by Oxford University Press, for which Carlson served as editor in chief.

"Along with language, religion and social structure, technology is part of the culture of a given people and perhaps more than any other element, is used to shape and illustrate a society's values and beliefs," Carlson said. "While all cultures have technology, every culture uses technology differently."

Unlike other histories of technology, this set is organized by different cultures, rather than by different technologies. Instead of one chapter devoted to metalworking through the ages, Carlson and his co-authors looked at metalworking in the context of different societies at different times. Which metal was worked and why? What was it used to make? How did the manufactured items both reflect and shape their society?

The history begins with the Stone Age and ends with the global economy. It defines technology broadly, exploring not only traditional topics - agriculture, industrialization, transportation, navigation and computers - but also medicine and pharmacology, warfare, timekeeping, and domestic and fine arts. The chapters touch on incremental, but significant, advances as well as revolutionary breakthroughs.

Unlike many histories of technology that focus on Europe and the United States, these volumes delve into non-Western societies and their contributions to the world's technological knowledge through the ages. Designed to serve both world history and science curriculums, they explore the history and technology of 18 different cultures, including China, the Islamic Empire, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific, the Maya and the Aztecs.

The books - which include timelines and more than 600 illustrations, including photographs, maps and diagrams - are designed for public and school libraries.

"One of the goals of the cross-cultural approach is to move readers beyond Western assumptions about technology," Carlson said. "Non-Western cultures may view technology in different ways. It's not just the means to pursue material and economic goals - creating wealth, maintaining military power, improving health and providing entertainment. People may also use technology to pursue non-economic goals, such as sustaining the social order and expressing cultural meaning."

An expert on the role of technology and innovation in American history, Carlson received his doctorate in the history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania. His publications include "Innovation as a Social Process: Elihu Thomson and the Rise of General Electric, 1870-1900" (Cambridge University Press, 1991; paper reprint 2002). With support from the Sloan Foundation, he is currently completing a biography of the inventor Nikola Tesla.

Answer 2

since the 1950s we have improved in many aspects of technology. Computers have revolutionized the world. The avro vulcan aircraft and the lancaster bomber was only developed ten years apart due to the discovery of the jet engine by frank whittle. Computer games hav gone from a basic 2d tennis game to a 3d with realistic graphics. Apple have developed its range of 'i' products like the iPod touch and iPad

Answer 3

Aliens...What happened around that time? Infamous Roswell, New Mexico crash. Look back at our history...nothing advanced as quickly as we have in the last 40 years.

Answer 4

absoulety the tv, radio, and certainly cant forget the headsets for pilots and such

Answer 5

No one Knows No one Knows